Microsoft Defender for Cloud: The Collected Services

• Microsoft Defender for Cloud is a family of freestanding, paid services used to secure Azure resources.
• Some Microsoft Defender for Cloud services can be used with on-premises resources or in other clouds but at additional cost.
• Third parties are unlikely to match the level of security integration with Azure that Microsoft provides.
• Customers will often need to augment Microsoft Defender for Cloud with Microsoft Sentinel and Azure Monitor for a complete security solution.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is a family of independently licensed security services designed primarily to help secure resources running in Azure, other clouds, and on-premises. The Microsoft Defender for Cloud brand replaced the family of Azure Defender paid services and the free tier of Azure Security Center. That free tier of Microsoft Defender for Cloud continues to be available but does little other than assist with security recommendations and assessments of the organization’s Azure resources. The new paid tier of Microsoft Defender for Cloud recommendations, auditing, and alerts is intended to help organizations meet their regulatory compliance and security needs across their Azure tenancy.